Working at an ice cream place definitely has its pros and cons. On the one hand you're covered in old sticky ice cream by the end of your shift, but on the other hand its a wonderful feeling knowing that this ice cream makes people's days better. I've now worked at an ice cream place for about a year now and I've come to realize that there are certain things only someone who has worked as an ice cream employee will understand, and here are just some of those lessons.
1. Its an amazing feeling knowing you have improved someone's day.
Its an awesome feeling knowing that this one ice cream cone has the power to improve this person's day and that you had a small hand in that.
2. Some people are just plain rude.
While I generally enjoy talking to people, some customers are just rude. Now I don't know their lives or what their day has been like but they're getting ice cream, that should be a happy occasion!
3. There is such a thing as "too much ice cream."
Let me state this first, I love ice cream, almost a little too much. But at the end of my shift ice cream is the last thing I want to see, let alone eat.
4. You get to a point in your life where dried ice cream doesn't bother you anymore.
I constantly find dried ice cream on my hands and arms and each time its always a fun mystery game trying to guess what flavor ice cream that splotch on my arm is.
5. A lot of ice cream is consumed when its a slow work day.
As someone who thoroughly enjoys ice cream, when its a slow shift my first instinct is to eat some ice cream, usually with little regret.
6. Your summer diet consists of ice cream.
I often forget to bring lunch or dinner to work so often times my lunch or dinner consists of ice cream. Healthy? No. Delicious? Absolutely.
7. You'll get some very weird ice cream orders.
Serving ice cream truly demonstrates the phrase, "to each their own." While I may not find their order appetizing, its my job to make it and serve it with a smile even if I'm gagging inside (I'm talking to you, customer who ordered orange pineapple ice cream with hot fudge, peanut butter sauce, and gummy bears on top).
8. And there are going to be customers who expand your ice cream horizons.
In the opposite direction of #7, there are going to be customers who order ice cream combinations that you think are absolutely genius, such as blue raspberry italian ice with soft serve vanilla ice cream on top.
9. Milkshakes are either the easiest thing to make or the absolute worst.
Its your worst fear that the milkshake thats being made will explode while mixing and that you might have a monstrous mess on your hands.
10. Its exhausting smiling for hours on end.
While more often than not I enjoy my job and talking to people, I have bad days too but I have to leave whatever is going on in my life at the door when I get to the counter, so that fake smiling is truly tiring at the end of a long shift.
11. Tips are a gift from above.
If your job allows you to accept tips you know that its this money that keeps you alive. Anything you do at work is motivated by "do it for the tips." Customer that is adamant (yet wrong) you got their order wrong? Redo the order for the tips. Awkward small talk with that mom? Chat about the weather for the tip.
12. And by the end of the summer your dominant arm will be much stronger.
Come August, the arm you use to scoop ice cream will be significantly stronger than your non-dominant arm and its pretty amusing looking at the muscle differences between the two arms at the end of the summer.
